Top 10 Literary Characters I Would Want to Have in my Squad
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is a FREEBIE so I decided to do a top ten list that I think about every time I come across a cool character while I’m reading: If I were to choose 10 literary characters to be my best friends, who would I choose?
What qualities do I look for in best friends anyway? I’d say these qualities are probably at the top of my list: loyalty, intelligence – can be book smart or street smart, someone who has a sense of humor and a sense of adventure, and who is passionate about causes that are important to them, and who can also be a bit on the sassy side and give me a kick in the pants if I need it. In my mind, the characters I’ve selected embody most – if not all – of those qualities and I’d be thrilled for any of them to be a member of my squad.
Ten Literary Characters I Would Want to Have in my Squad
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1. HERMIONE GRANGER from the Harry Potter series
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2. DELILAH BARD from the Shades of Magic series
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3. ELIZABETH BENNETT from Pride and Prejudice
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4. FARLEY from the Red Queen series
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5. MINNIE JACKSON from The Help
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6. STEPHANIE PLUM from the Stephanie Plum series
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7. ARYA STARK from A Song of Fire and Ice series
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8. REAGAN from Fangirl
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9. BEATRICE from Much Ado About Nothing
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10. JO MARCH from Little Women
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Question: What literary characters would you want to have on your squad?
Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab
A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2) by V.E. Schwab, Victoria Schwab Also by this author: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1), A Conjuring of Light, This Savage Song
Series: Shades of Magic #2
Published by Tor Books on February 23rd 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 509
Also in this series: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1), A Conjuring of Light
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads
Goodreads Synopsis: It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift–back into Black London.
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.
My Review:
What an incredible read! I could seriously kick myself for waiting so long to pick it up, especially considering how much I loved A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in the series.
A Gathering of Shadows picks up about four months after A Darker Shade of Magic and what I really loved about it was how character driven the entire book is. Of course it has an incredibly entertaining plot as well, with the Element Games tournament as well as a darker subplot which follows a character we thought we had left behind in the first book, but even with those storylines at play, what drives this book and makes it such a fabulous read are the psychological journeys of these characters and how much we get inside of their heads as they each deal with the fallout from the events of the first book. The struggle of each of our favorite characters is palpable in A Gathering of Shadows as they are each desperately trying to figure out who they even are anymore because everything has changed for each of them.
What I Loved:
The Bond between Kell and Rhy: The fallout from Kell binding his life to Rhy’s to save him in the first book really permeates through everything that takes place in A Gathering of Shadows. Kell doesn’t regret saving Rhy for a single moment, but he is also miserable because he can’t live like he normally would for fear of harming Rhy in the process. In the early chapters, Schwab paints him almost as a restless tiger pacing in a cage. He longs for action and adventure but is terrified of harming his brother in the process. As we learn right away, this magical bond between Kell and Rhy is so strong that if Kell takes a punch, for example, Rhy can actually feel the pain as if it’s happening to him as well. Kell is also miserable because he can feel that the King and Queen, his “parents”, no longer trust him because of what happened in the first book. Rhy, in his own way, is equally miserable because he knows the sacrifice Kell has made for him and he hates it because he can literally sense how trapped and miserable Kell feels. Schwab has so vividly described this bond between the brothers that I just felt so horrible for both of them but also really appreciated that these two men, even though they are not brothers in blood, would truly sacrifice anything and everything for the other.
Speaking of Rhy, I also loved that we got to see so much more of him in this book. His father is grooming him to take on more of a leadership role and so has him hosting the Element Games. As much as I adored Rhy as the fun brother who often served to lighten the mood in A Darker Shade of Magic as he bantered with Kell, I loved seeing this more mature and responsible side of him as he represents his country.
Delilah Bard: There’s no way I can talk about what I loved about this book without mentioning Lila. I didn’t think it was possible to love her more than I did in the first book, but she really blew me away in this one and has become one of my favorite female characters of all time. I actually found myself chuckling at her antics quite a bit in the opening chapters as we see that she has, in fact, realized her dream of becoming a pirate. Lila has earned her spot on Alucard Emery’s privateer by proving — in typical Lila style – that she is the best thief around. On a bet with a couple of Alucard’s crewmen, she actually scams her way aboard a rival pirate ship and then promptly attacks and takes it over. I love that she’s such a badass and that she does whatever she needs to do in order to survive, even if it’s a bit morally questionable. She has always been a survivor and a risk taker and in this book, she takes that to a whole new level as we learn that she has somehow managed to start mastering the elements of magic, which by most accounts, she should not have been able to do. In many ways Lila is shocked at her own magical abilities and so she has somewhat of an identity crisis. Who or what am I and why can I do all of these things that I shouldn’t be able to do? She spends much of the novel testing the limits of her abilities, including, securing by somewhat shady means, a position for herself as a competitor in the Element Games.
Alucard Emery: What a fun new addition to the series Alucard Emery is. Alucard is the captain of the ship Lila has ensconced herself on and the two of them have bonded tremendously as they’ve traveled the seas together. Alucard is also quite the charmer. His banter, both with Lila and then later with Rhy, who it turns out he has a bit of history with (to Kell’s dismay), is just so much fun to read. In many ways he becomes the mood lightener that Rhy was in A Darker Shade of Magic.
The Element Games (or Essen Tasch): Just wow! In some ways this magical tournament reminded me of the Triwizard Tournament from the Harry Potter series – with its magicians visiting from two other countries to participate. Rather than quests for each of the competitors, however, the Essen Tasch is more about using magic in combat. Schwab does a magnificent job of bringing this tournament to life – each match is so vividly described that I felt like I was right there watching earth, air, fire, and water springing to life as commanded by each magician. I also loved how meticulous Schwab is about developing the rules, disqualifiers, and other minute details of this tournament such as the costumes, masks, and props. No details were left to chance and the whole tournament felt that much more authentic because of her efforts. It was incredibly entertaining to read!
That Cliffhanger Ending! OMG! I don’t want to give anything away here, but let’s just say that that dark subplot that has been lurking throughout the novel finally rears its ugly head at the conclusion of A Gathering of Shadows. I have to applaud Schwab’s ability to craft a masterful cliffhanger that has me desperately wanting to get my hands on the next book to make sure my favorite characters are going to be okay.
Anything I Didn’t Like?
That I don’t already have the third book in my hands because of that insane cliffhanger?! No, seriously, I cannot express how much I LOVED this book. As annoyed as I am at myself for putting off reading it for as long as I did, in a way I’m grateful because now I only have to wait about a month for A Conjuring of Light. I think I would have lost my mind if I had read this months and months ago and had such a long wait.
Who Would I Recommend A Gathering of Shadows to?
I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. If you’re looking to get into the fantasy genre for the first time, I think this series is a fantastic place to start. The world building is just so vivid but also relatable since it’s grounded in London, a city that is so familiar to most of us. The characters are badass and yet also charming and fun and sometimes vulnerable. Seriously, if you don’t fall in love with Kell, Lila, and Rhy, I’d be very shocked. I’d also highly recommend this series to readers like me who tend to be somewhat cynical when it comes to romances. So far this series has done a marvelous job of just hinting at potential relationships without having it take over the rest of the plot. It’s very well-balanced in that sense, and so it earns extra high marks from me.
Rating: 5 Stars
About V.E. Schwab
Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and This Savage Song. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.”
She is represented by Holly Root at Root Literary and Jon Cassir at CAA.
All appearance and publicity inquiries should be directed to her PR rep, Kristin Dwyer, at: kdwyer@leoprny.com
About Victoria Schwab
Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and This Savage Song. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.”
She is represented by Holly Root at Root Literary and Jon Cassir at CAA.
All appearance and publicity inquiries should be directed to either her agent, or one of her publicists:
Harper: Gina.Rizzo@harpercollins.com
Tor: Alexis.Saarela@tor.com
Ten Underrated Books Every Book Lover Should Read
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So (up to you if you want it to be those published in the past year or so or just ANY underrated book you’ve read recently).
I think nearly all of the books I read last year have ended up being extremely popular so I decided to tweak this week’s topic a bit to make it a better fit for me. I chose to spotlight books that even though they probably have a fair number of reviews on Goodreads, they still live in the shadows of their more famous counterparts. I’ve structured my list, therefore, as a kind of “If you like this book by this author, here’s another lesser known title you should take a look at because it’s just as fabulous.”
Ten Underrated Books Every Book Lover Should Read
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1. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
(If you liked The Great Gatsby, read this.)
Everyone has heard of, and most have read Fitzgerald’s most famous work The Great Gatsby, but Tender is the Night is actually my favorite of his works. I remember not fully appreciating Gatsby the first time I read it as a sophomore in high school, but then I happened to pick up this book. I loved it so much that I ended up going back to Gatsby and giving it another go, falling in love with it the second time around.
Goodsreads Synopsis: Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick’s harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character, Tender Is the Night is lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative. (Read more…)
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2. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
(If you liked Beloved, read this.)
As powerful of a read as Beloved is, it was reading this book in graduate school that took me from liking Toni Morrison’s writings to absolutely loving them.
Goodreads Synopsis: Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, Morrison introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized black world. (Read more…)
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3. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
(If you loved The Handmaid’s Tale, read this.)
This read is every bit as enthralling as its more famous counterpart, The Handmaid’s Tale.
Goodreads Synopsis: In Alias Grace, bestselling author Margaret Atwood has written her most captivating, disturbing, and ultimately satisfying work since The Handmaid’s Tale. She takes us back in time and into the life of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century.
Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.
Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she the victim of circumstances? (Read more…)
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4. Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler
(If you loved Kindred, read this.)
A truly fascinating read. Can’t believe it has less than 10,000 reviews on Goodreads…
Goodreads Synopsis: Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex or design. He fears no one until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is a shapeshifter who can absorb bullets and heal with a kiss and savage anyone who threatens her. She fears no one until she meets Doro. Together they weave a pattern of destiny (from Africa to the New World) unimaginable to mortals. (Read more…)
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5. The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan
(If you liked A Visit from the Goon Squad, read this.)
I actually enjoyed Egan’s debut novel much more than I liked the more famous A Visit from the Goon Squad.
Goodreads Synopsis: In Jennifer Egan’s highly acclaimed first novel, set in 1978, the political drama and familial tensions of the 1960s form a backdrop for the world of Phoebe O’Connor, age eighteen. Phoebe is obsessed with the memory and death of her sister Faith, a beautiful idealistic hippie who died in Italy in 1970. In order to find out the truth about Faith’s life and death, Phoebe retraces her steps from San Francisco across Europe, a quest which yields both complex and disturbing revelations about family, love, and Faith’s lost generation. This spellbinding novel introduced Egan’s remarkable ability to tie suspense with deeply insightful characters and the nuances of emotion. (Read more…)
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6. Arcadia by Lauren Groff
(If you liked Fates and Furies, read this.)
I couldn’t put Fates and Furies down, and my reading experience was exactly the same with her earlier work, Arcadia. Just beautiful writing.
Goodreads Synopsis: In the fields and forests of western New York State in the late 1960s, several dozen idealists set out to live off the land, founding what becomes a famous commune centered on the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia follows this lyrical, rollicking, tragic, and exquisite utopian dream from its hopeful start through its heyday and after. The story is told from the point of view of Bit, a fascinating character and the first child born in Arcadia. (Read more…)
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7. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King
(If you like The Shining or honestly any of his dozens of bestsellers, read this.)
I’m not big into Stephen King, mainly because I’m a chicken and don’t enjoy reading horror stories. This book is pretty fascinating though — a love story Stephen King-style.
Goodreads Synopsis: Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a twenty-five-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went- a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it’s Lisey’s turn to go to Boo’ya Moon. What begins as a widow’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. Perhaps King’s most personal and powerful novel, Lisey’s Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love. (Read more…)
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8. The Inheritors by William Golding
(If you liked Lord of the Flies, read this.)
If not for graduate school, I probably never would have read this book, but OMG, what a shocking and unexpected ride it is.
Goodsreads Synopsis: When the spring came the people – what was left of them – moved back by the old paths from the sea. But this year strange things were happening, terrifying things that had never happened before. Inexplicable sounds and smells; new, unimaginable creatures half glimpsed through the leaves. What the people didn’t, and perhaps never would, know, was that the day of their people was already over.
From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors is a startling recreation of the lost world of the Neanderthals, and a frightening vision of the beginning of a new age. (Read more…)
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9. Home Front by Kristin Hannah
(If you loved The Nightingale, read this.)
I devoured The Nightingale in about a day and now I’m finding that all of Kristin Hannah’s books are equally compelling. Go try any of them – well, all of them really!
Goodreads Synopsis: Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life–children, careers, bills, chores–even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a soldier she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own–for everything that matters to his family.
At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope. (Read more…)
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10. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
(If you loved I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, read this.)
I think everyone should read everything Maya Angelou has ever written. She just had a way with words that I don’t think anyone else comes close to.
Goodreads Synopsis: The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother.
For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatizes her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them.
Delving into one of her life’s most rich, rewarding, and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou’s rise from immeasurable depths to reach impossible heights. (Read more…)
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